谋生

• Pinyin: móu shēng
• Hanzi breakdown: 谋 = 讠(speech) + 某(certain) — scheming/planning; 生 = life/grow — survival

Meaning

To make a living; to find ways to support oneself financially; to earn one's livelihood.

Emphasises the effort and strategy involved in sustaining oneself economically, especially under difficult conditions. Common in contexts of migration, poverty, career change, or survival. Slightly more formal and literary than 养活自己.

Examples

1. 年轻时为了谋生，他不得不同时打三份工来维持最基本的生活。 When he was young, he had to work three jobs at the same time just to make a living.
2. 大批农村劳动力涌入城市谋生，在很大程度上推动了城镇化的快速发展。 Large numbers of rural workers moved to cities to make a living, greatly accelerating urbanization.
3. 在那个动荡的年代，许多知识分子不得不放弃理想，靠出卖体力谋生。 In that turbulent era, many intellectuals had to give up their ideals and survive by doing manual labor.

Usage Guide

Context: migration, poverty, career, history

Tone: practical/earnest

Do Say

• 他背井离乡，只为能在大城市中艰难谋生。(He left his hometown just to eke out a living in the big city.)
• 职业技能培训帮助残疾人掌握了独立谋生的手段，逐步实现经济自立。(Vocational skills training helps disabled people master the means of making a living and gradually achieve economic independence.)

Don't Say

• 把'谋生'用于条件优越的职业发展语境 (谋生 carries an undertone of necessity-driven survival — for comfortable career advancement, use 发展事业 or 追求职业目标)

Origin & History

谋(seek/plan) + 生(life/livelihood). Literally 'to plan for survival' — seeking the means to sustain life.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal